• Atiku woos voters in 14
Three frontline presidential candidates in forthcoming election, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress, and Peter Obi of the Labour Party, have covered 24 states to woo voters since the political campaign officially began on September 28, 2022.
Also, the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Atiku Abubakar, has covered 14 states since the Independent National Electoral Commission gave them the go-ahead to begin their rallies.
Obi and his campaign team spent the last three months ramping up support and reaching out to governors, monarchs and political stakeholders in nine states, namely Plateau, Edo, Akwa Ibom, Rivers, Benue, Nasarawa, Kogi, Taraba and Oyo States.
Tinubu, on the other hand, has led a delegation of party members, governors, allies and loyalists to canvass votes in 15 states and the Federal Capital Territory as well a handful of town hall meetings.
They are Lagos, Bayelsa, Edo, Delta, Kogi, Taraba, Yobe, Niger, Nasarawa, Plateau, Imo, Kaduna, Ebonyi, Cross River, Oyo and Abuja.
Unlike the LP, the APC presidential campaign was serially postponed until Tinubu officially flagged off in Jos, the Plateau State capital on November 15.
Collectively, the two parties had ramped up support in 24 states with 12 more to be covered before the February 25 poll.
When asked how they hope to cover ground before the 2023 elections, the spokesman for Obi-Datti presidential campaign council, Tanko Yunusa, told our correspondent that it was not rocket science.
He said, “From the staggered timetable we have, we intend to visit all the states. We are not leaving out any. Our principal has also said he wants to visit all the zones and states. As far as we are concerned, how many states has our opponents done. We are almost at par.”
While stating that the mission to rescue the country from ageing politicians and power mongers is a collective assignment, Tanko called on other political stakeholder to emulate the temerity of former president of Nigeria, Olusegun Obasanjo, in nation building.
His position was corroborated by the new Director General of Obi-Datti Presidential Campaign Council, Akin Osuntokun.
A livid Osuntokun disclosed that the Labour Party candidate should not be compared with the incumbent President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), who he accused of snubbing 70 per cent of people in the South before he came to power.
“Why should we ignore any state? That’s not our standard. If we ignore a state, what kind of presidential campaign would that be? We are not like (President Muhammadu) Buhari who couldn’t tour 70 per cent of the South when he was in Congress for Progressive Change.
“By January 4, 5 and 6, we will be in Osun, Ekiti and Ondo States in continuation of our campaign. Two months is actually a long way for us to cover the entire states and we are working hard in that direction. There is no state or region that is not strategic. I don’t know where you are getting the idea that some states are not,” he said.
In his remarks, the ruling APC reaffirmed Tinubu’s readiness to complete his campaign across the 36 states in record time.
In an interview with Sunday PUNCH, the spokesman for Tinubu-Shettima presidential campaign council, Festus Keyamo, disclosed that anybody following his principal’s campaign and town hall meetings would agree that he seemed to be ahead of his other opponents.
According to him, regardless of any emergency or contingency plan, Tinubu’s campaign timetable has been structured in such a robust manner that it would enable him to go round the country in record time.
However, the Atiku Abubakar is upbeat of his chances at the polls given what his campaign council described as the warm reception he received across the country since the commencement of campaign activities.
So far, the former Vice President and his campaign council have touched down in 14 states of the federation including the Federal Capital Territory. The states already visited are Akwa Ibom, Edo, Osun, Kwara, Ondo and Lagos.
Others include Nasarawa, Plateau, Gombe, Borno, Anambra, Imo, Kaduna, Katsina states and the FCT.
Speaking to Sunday PUNCH, Director, Strategic Communications, National Election Management Committee of the PDP Presidential Campaign Council, Chief Dele Momodu, said, “Atiku Abubakar is the only candidate with friends, associates and structures in every part of Nigeria, that you can build or buy in one day. He has truly paid his dues and others will have to queue up behind him.”
Also, spokesman of the PDP Campaign Council, Senator Dino Melaye joined the conversation, saying, “our outings so far have been excellent, the reception mind-blowing, and the passion and enthusiasm were record breaking. Nigerians love and want Atiku/Okowa.
In his remarks, spokesperson for the Atiku/Okowa campaign organisation and Commissioner for Information, Delta State, Charles Aniagwu, singled out the South-East geo-political zone for praise during the visit of the campaign council.
Tinubu, George feud
Meanwhile, a former Chairman of the APC in Lagos, Henry Ajomale, says the age-long feud between the presidential candidate of his party, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, and former Deputy National Chairman of the PDP, Chief Olabode George, remains a mystery to many Nigerians.
But the spokesman of Tinubu-Shettima presidential campaign council, Festus Keyamo, attributed the bad blood to George’s perennial failure to capture Lagos for the PDP.
The two politicians are noted to throw mudsling and political jabs at each other at various times.
